


summer daze

by 99yeon



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, beach resort meet cute, mature for assorted mentions of violence and sex, spy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26250760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99yeon/pseuds/99yeon
Summary: "why are you calling? is the op going okay?"cupping her phone tightly in her hand, siyeon whispers hurriedly, "what does it mean when a woman asks you to put sunscreen on her back?"
Relationships: Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 32
Kudos: 231





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the lyrics that inspired this fic!:  
> i got this feeling on a summer day / knew it when i saw her face / i just thought that she could be the one  
> :3

"hey, stranger." 

siyeon is here for one reason and one reason only - to do the job that the Agency has given her. in this case, it's following the mark, and reporting back on her activities so that the Agency can keep tabs on her. yoohyeon is back at base, triangulating their efforts and giving siyeon occasionally helpful advice, but most of it is solo field work. 

this isn't siyeon's first field assignment, but it is the best one by far. minji deployed her to a pleasant little resort in indonesia this time, which beats out the times where siyeon's had to follow targets to decidedly unpleasant areas. like the malaysia assignment, where she'd had to wade through a murky river and bolt the last stretch when she saw crocodiles. or the nepal assignment, where she had to follow the mark to the everest base camp. or even closer to home, the taean assignment, where she'd had to harvest clams in a mudflat in a bid to remain undercover. 

she isn't their executioner, though. that's handong's job. siyeon updates them on their activities, and then handong comes in. 

the beach resort she's at is on the island of sulawesi, and offers plenty of activities, like snorkelling and kayaking. siyeon's tried both, and decided that she likes neither. the Agency has trained her well - she took to both activities like a fish to water, and if she had been given a sharpened rock, she'd have probably been able to joust with a fish. 

but that's not why she's here. 

"hello," siyeon says awkwardly, blinking up at the woman standing over her. she's immediately on high alert - she knows from experience that anyone who strikes up conversation unprovoked has ulterior motives. "can i help you?" 

"i'm bora," the woman says, gingerly lowering herself into the beach chair beside siyeon's. siyeon's strategically positioned herself for a good view of the mark, who's swimming laps in the resort pool.

_lee gahyeon,_ siyeon reminds herself of the mark's name, as if she hasn't gone over the target's file dozens of times by now to know her inside and out. minji hadn't explicitly informed her why the Agency wants her, but if she had to guess, siyeon thinks it might be to do with the argentina incident.

still, it's not like minji to keep things from her, and siyeon considers making a risky but encrypted phonecall later.

"what's yours?" bora hums, and siyeon is stunned out of her reverie. 

"jiu," she replies reflexively. she'll have to apologize for stealing minji's codename later. she's always gone by her real name when it's safe. this doesn't feel safe. it feels weird to be talked to by someone who isn't part of the Agency or someone who isn't relevant to the mission. 

and she wonders if 'bora' _is_ relevant to the mission. if she's covering for the mark. 

she looks the woman up and down, her eyes skimming over curves and skin before realizing how she must look. embarrassed, siyeon quickly averts her gaze. 

bora only laughs. "it's okay, sweetheart. you can look." 

siyeon exhales shakily, and the woman laughs again. 

"your english is good," bora comments in korean, and siyeon's eyebrows jump. "what? it's pretty obvious that you're not from here."  
  


"we're at a beach resort." 

"yeah, well," bora folds her left leg over her right, "you stick out." 

"that's unfortunate for me," siyeon chokes out. 

"it's not unfortunate. you stick out because you're gorgeous," bora says as if it's nothing, then, "wanna splash around with me?"

siyeon eyes the magazine she's left in her own lap, and then the tall bottle of sunscreen in bora's hand. and for the nth time, wonders what this woman wants with her. 

is this a seduction tactic? siyeon is familiar with them, but only when she employs them - to worm information out of those who might not want to reveal much otherwise, to get closer to targets. she hasn't… gotten seduced. 

"do i know you from somewhere?" she asks. 

bora throws her head back and laughs. it's an interesting laugh, and siyeon knows she shouldn't, but she lowers her guard just a little. evil doesn't tend to come in the form of gorgeous women in one-pieces laughing at her. most of the time. handong seems to get herself into those sorts of situations the most, which is unfortunate for said seductresses, because siyeon's pretty sure handong doesn't like anybody but yoohyeon.

she's still a little suspicious of how bora had easily sussed her out, how bora probably doesn't believe that her name is jiu, and why she's talking to siyeon in the first place. 

"no, i just wanted to play with someone, and you looked good," bora purrs, "and i need help with putting sunscreen on."

there aren't words in english or korean to describe how hot siyeon's cheeks get.

-

" _siyeon_?" comes yoohyeon's voice, tinged with sleep. it's two in the afternoon here and four back home - yoohyeon takes more afternoon naps than a puppy does. " _what is it? did you find lee gahyeon's boat?"_

the phone is hot in siyeon's hand, and she's fully aware that she shouldn't be using it unless absolutely necessary. it's too risky to throw out so many lines of communication into the vast expanse of the world. emergency calls only. all other lines of contact will come through yoohyeon. 

" _siyeon_?" yoohyeon asks, sounding a little more awake now. "i _s everything going okay_?" 

"what does it mean when a woman asks you to put sunscreen on her back?" siyeon whispers hurriedly.

" _wait_ ," yoohyeon commands. there's the sound of flipping pages, and then yoohyeon shouts for handong, " _handong! did we come up with a new cypher? siyeon's speaking in code and i don't know what it means!"_

"no, no," siyeon groans, crushing her palm into her forehead, "i just met a woman. we spent the day together." 

" _ooh_ ," yoohyeon replies, " _spill_." 

"she just came up to me and started talking," siyeon continues whispering, "and then she asked me to put sunscreen on her back. and to go to the beach with her. and then to come back to her room with her." 

yoohyeon gasps. " _did you-_ " 

  
" _yes_ ," siyeon groans, "we… slept together, in a sense." 

her stomach squeezes when she says the words out loud. not because she regrets it, because she definitely doesn't. the stranger - her name is _bora, bora, bora_ (and bora had given her more than enough times to remember it) - had pulled her away from her duties for a day, lain siyeon down in her bed. 

yoohyeon whoops and cheers, and siyeon can't help but smile, even though she knows how foolish she is. it's okay. it was a one day thing, and it's not like the mark is getting away any time soon. siyeon's room is a level down lee gahyeon's, and she knows for a fact that the woman isn't checking out anytime soon. 

siyeon? siyeon's here as long as she is. 

" _i'm happy for you_ ," yoohyeon says, when she's gotten all her cheering out. " _it's good to unwind once in a while. maybe not on a mission, but it's okay. i'm guessing the woman was good to you?_ "

"it was one night, yoohyeon," siyeon scolds, but she grudgingly follows up with, "but yeah. she was." 

" _does this woman happen to be the mark?_ " handong's soft voice asks, yoohyeon giving a shout of protest in the background.

siyeon gulps and hangs up. 

-

siyeon blinks at the spray of saltwater in her face when the waves come crashing into the shore. she's never liked the sea much. something about nearly drowning during a training exercise makes going near water unpleasant. not that she's ever complained when sent out on missions that require her to swim or dive - you don't challenge what the Agency tells you to do. you just do it. 

her bare feet sift through the sand as she walks. she keeps an eye out for any suspicious vehicles or people - there's intel that lee gahyeon is working with an unknown party to procure a large cache of illegal weapons and assorted pieces of technology. it's thought that all of this is being kept on one of the small islands near the resort. siyeon's spent the past few days trawling nearly every inch of the resort grounds, splitting her time between keeping an eye on gahyeon and looking for clues as to where her vehicle - if there even is one - may be. gahyeon's room is bugged, but the woman is never in.

there aren't many people on the beach, probably because a large storm is brewing over the horizon. it's fun, though, for siyeon. and the empty beach gives her space to think over what she did three days ago. the little slip up, a slip in her judgement that's not going to happen again- 

"hey, stranger!"

the little slip in her judgement stands with one hand on her hip and the other hand waving wildly at her. she's in the same one-piece as the day siyeon peeled it off her body, and siyeon has to avert her eyes for three seconds before she looks back. both to get herself under control, and to make sure that she isn't dreaming. 

then bora starts running towards her. 

this must be what it's like to look death in the eye. siyeon's beach dress has about sixteen weapons in it that she can remember. there's a knife strapped to her thigh, just neatly concealed by the fabric of the dress. all she'd have to do is get her fingers through the slit in the side and- 

she jumps back about three feet when bora comes face to face with her. the woman isn't even panting. "hey, you didn't say hi this morning at breakfast."

"i didn't have breakfast," siyeon says quickly. "you must've seen someone else." 

"no, i'm sure it was you." siyeon tenses when bora lifts a finger to trace the scar on her cheek. "omelette bar, five yolks and no whites?" 

siyeon winces. bad morning to be trying out her favourite order. back home, minji knows her favourite egg recipe by heart, a result of having been friends since they were kids. add a little soy sauce and avocado, and siyeon's the happiest woman alive. siyeon had had been in the middle of asking the chef if they had avocados before bora had shown up, yelling _jiu! jiu!_ till siyeon had bolted altogether. 

thunder rumbles above them, and siyeon pulls her face gently from bora's hand. "sorry. i didn't see you." 

"do you want to have dinner with me today, jiu?" bora asks, her brow creased, "you left so quickly last night."

siyeon stares at her. at bora's eyes and the slope of her nose and the tilt of her mouth- and she's this close to saying yes, to this gorgeous woman who offers her some strange human satisfaction that siyeon hasn't felt in a long time. hasn't felt, _ever._

the good life doesn't seem so bad. 

and she's _so_ close, before she remembers why she's on this beach in the first place.

her phone gives a quiet buzz against her thigh. it must be yoohyeon from the comms centre, sending more information after a notification from this morning that they had gotten more information on gahyeon. 

siyeon remembers the haunted look on minji and yoohyeon's faces when they had returned from argentina. how yoohyeon had locked herself in her room for two weeks and never once again went out on a field op. how minji had thrown herself back to work with double the usual fervour, and only cried when she thought no one was watching. 

to take bora's veiled promise, of more pleasure and excitement and the thrill of an unchoreographed dance -- that would be selfish beyond all measure. 

"you okay?" bora asks again.

"i'm sorry," siyeon backs away from her. she's disoriented enough that she trips on her own feet and falls into the sand, but she gets up as bora rushes to help her up. "i can't." 

"who else do you have dinner reservations with?" bora chuckles nervously, but siyeon just shakes her head. 

"just- just not today," she says. she turns down the other length of the shoreline and runs back to the resort, as the clouds gather above, the guilt of having even _considered_ running from her duty swallowing her whole, the regret at giving up what would probably have been a wonderful date prodding at her. 

it's only later, when siyeon's in a barstool beside lee gahyeon and making idle talk with the woman that she realizes she's about seven weapons lighter. that those seven weapons are probably strewn along the shoreline right now, for bora to peruse and gape at.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to split the fic into 3 chapters for better flow... it won't be a long fic regardless but i prefer the split to be like that  
> chapter is being published at 5am, unbeta read because i dont have a beta reader nor do i have self respect

siyeon only allows her expression to freeze for a second or so before she schools it back into casual disinterest, continuing to nod along to what gahyeon is saying. it's nothing interesting or informative, but anything is good. anything that might accidentally give gahyeon's game away. 

the creeping feeling of unease continues to coil in her stomach, though. the thought of bora crouching in the sand and staring at the weapons in horror, wondering if siyeon is some bona fide serial killer. 

_ bora, it's not what you think! i just  _ work  _ with bona fide serial killers!  _

she sees some security guards pass further behind gahyeon, and swallows hard. if bora calls security on her- siyeon doesn't know which would be worse. 

_ security, it's not what you think! all this spy equipment isn't for spying!  _

siyeon thanks her lucky stars that bora doesn't know which room she's staying in, and makes a note to avoid breakfast the next few days. she has a feeling bora wouldn't have left her alone regardless.

"are you okay?" gahyeon asks, tucking a lock of pink hair behind her ear. she's nursing a frozen margarita, and had smiled when siyeon had (very intentionally) ordered the same drink. "you don't look so good." 

"i'm fine," siyeon waves off her concern, "you were talking about your dog?" 

"ah, no, my girlfriend's dog," gahyeon corrects gently. "i'm too scared of them. i could never have one." 

"a girlfriend?" 

gahyeon's eyes crinkle when she laughs. "yeah, that, of course." 

the conversation goes well. lee gahyeon is a slippery figure, and countless operatives, according to yoohyeon's notes, have tried to chase her down before to no avail. siyeon has a good feeling about this op. she's a capable, skilled agent - that's why the Agency chose to send her out - and she intends to prove it. 

the simmering feeling of unease about bora persists, though. she can't help but continue worrying about the woman, who siyeon knows too little and too much about. she knows what bora looks like under her clothes, but she has no idea how long she's here on vacation. 

or if she's even here on vacation. 

siyeon makes an executive decision to do what she does best.

-

an hour later, siyeon finds herself pressing her ear to bora's room door. 

it's not exactly professional spy work, but it'll do. 

it's evening, and siyeon had deduced from staring into bora's balcony that she was in her room, relaxing with a glass of wine and snacks before she had closed the curtains. she can hear the sound of the hotel's complimentary netflix service running in the background, some american show that siyeon can only understand a bit of. bora's loud laughs punctuate the air occasionally, and siyeon can't help but smile at the sound. 

it's hard to believe that she had fallen hard and fast for bora's charms, that she had let bora lead her back along this corridor and get pushed onto her bed. bora smells like coconut, probably from some hair product. 

and it's stupid, but siyeon finds herself wondering how life would be like if she had accepted bora's dinner offer tonight. she had assumed that bora would just ask someone else, but it seems that the other option for the woman had been dining alone in her room.

siyeon wonders how it would have been, sitting down in the resort restaurant opposite bora without needing to be hyper aware of her surroundings. they'd order whatever they want - the concept of an all-inclusive resort never fails to thrill siyeon - and talk about the lives they lead. bora would tell her about the job she's vacationing away from, the schools she went to, the things she's done.

the illusion shatters when siyeon realizes that she would have to lie. no matter what, no matter how much she would want to trust bora, she would have to lie about everything. 

but if she didn't - and siyeon indulges herself in that fantasy again - she'd end up telling bora everything. maybe bora would ask jokingly teasing questions meant to prompt her to open up, and siyeon would open up. 

she would tell bora about minji, and yoohyeon, and handong, the people she cares sfor the most in this world. she would tell bora that she and yoohyeon are similar in that both received training for every conceivable martial art at the Academy, but still manage to trip over their feet all the time. handong usually catches yoohyeon, and siyeon usually hits the floor hard. she would tell bora that handong isn't a bad person, even though her job title and sometimes hostile, closed-off demeanor may suggest otherwise. handong's just a person holding a lot of pain, pain that siyeon may never fully know. but she  _ knows _ . they all do. 

she would tell bora that her best friend in the world, who she respects and adores the most, is minji. that they grew up together, before they were assigned to work with handong and yoohyeon, and as a result minji knows her better than anyone. she would ask bora to contact minji for a character reference. 

she would tell bora that her favourite animal is the wolf, because it's a gorgeous animal. because wolves stay steadfast by their packs, by those they want to protect, and they don't let go.

she would tell bora that she doesn't want to let go of her, though nothing could ever happen. she would let that obstacle fizzle out into the salty air and take bora's hand when she suggests returning to the room siyeon stands outside right now. they'd be slightly tipsy, and bora would make some half-serious dirty comments that siyeon would blush at. 

her shoulders slump, and siyeon shakes her head. this was a stupid idea. nothing good could have come from coming to bora's room again, to remind herself of what she can't have. clenching her fists very tight in a bid not to cry, she walks down the corridor a little more. and stops, at the deluge of thoughts that come. 

they would stumble down the corridor from the elevator, and siyeon would say something flirty. 

bora would hold siyeon upright before tripping on something and bringing both of them down to the ground.

they'd laugh uncontrollably before finally making it to her room. 

and then they'd sit, and kiss, and hold hands.

the good life doesn't seem too bad. 

"excuse me, ma'am," a polite voice comes from beside her, and siyeon blusters out an apology before making space for the room service cart and its accompanying staff member to move through the corridor. 

the cart stops in front of bora's room, and the man raps on the door, calling "room service!" before leaving a covered tray on the ground in front of the door. 

he moves on, and siyeon creeps cautiously back to bora's room. positions herself precariously behind the tray. she has to make a concerted effort to stop trembling. 

the door opens, and bora makes a happy little sound when she sees the plate. and only then does she look up at siyeon. 

she makes an even louder, even happier sound, and hops over the dinner tray till she's nose to nose with siyeon, "jiu! i thought you didn't want to have dinner!"

"my name isn't jiu," siyeon mumbles.

bora blinks, looking a little confused, "then what is it?" 

"it's siyeon. lee siyeon." 

"okay, we can work with that," bora smiles, and frowns when siyeon doesn't have any visible reaction. "i'm sorry. did i do something wrong? is that why you're here? my friends tell me i come off as a bit much, so i'm sorry if-" 

"no," siyeon takes a step back, "no, it's not. i just came to-to-" 

she presses a gentle kiss to bora's lips. bora kisses back immediately, tiptoeing a little and sighing in contentment against siyeon's mouth. 

they pull apart, and siyeon must have that strange frazzled smile on her face that handong always points out because bora bursts out laughing. "you're so pretty, siyeon. you're even prettier now than when i saw you this morning." 

siyeon smirks, "i like to think that i only get prettier." 

"you're right," bora laughs. she looks siyeon up and down, "so… are you some sort of vampire that i have to invite in?" 

this is where siyeon stops herself. 

"i need to go." 

"is that your catchphrase?" bora laughs, " _ i have to go? _ " 

"i don't know why i came here," siyeon sighs, though she knows exactly why. to entice herself with something that she never had a chance of obtaining. it borders on masochistic. "i'm sorry, bora. i really like you."

"don't go if you like me," bora says quietly. "i don't know what's going on, siyeon, but don't go. please?" 

"i really like you," siyeon says helplessly, as if that's a great parting comment to make before she leaves, leaving bora to stare at her in stunned silence. 

-

the next few days, to say the least, are miserable. she almost never sleeps, spending all her time fixated on getting somewhere with this mission. contact with headquarters is nearly non-existent, leaving siyeon alone and prowling around the resort like a madwoman. 

she has one too many conversations with lee gahyeon. learns too much useless information about her that she still compiles and sends back to headquarters - like how the girlfriend gahyeon talks about is on vacation with her here, and she really hates the bloody marys at the bar, and how much she likes indonesia, she wants to visit the rest of southeast asia, and has booked tickets for malaysia next week. siyeon wonders if it's an errant hint to where she and her mercenaries are going to strike next. 

bora dominates her thoughts, mostly. she doesn't ever stop thinking about the scene in the corridor, how she had so selfishly kissed her before turning her back on her. and it may just be a holiday fling for bora, but to siyeon, bora is everything she has never been able to have. a life of normalcy and casual loves and beautiful women who don't have any ulterior motives. 

she sees bora a few times these few days, and always steers clear of her, even when she can tell that bora is staring. 

siyeon's ability to distinguish between what's useful and what isn't erodes over time along with her sanity, and she's starting to question her skill as an operative when a lead comes through. 

_ lgh leaving this afternoon. follow her _

siyeon nearly crashes into gahyeon when she intercepts her in the stairwell - the elevator doesn't work in siyeon's block of rooms - and she smiles, "nice to see you!" 

gahyeon is obviously in a hurry, and walks while they talk, "yeah, didn't think i'd see you again. i'm checking out today." 

"so soon? i'll miss you, gahyeon," siyeon pouts. 

that's the mistake siyeon makes. 

because gahyeon never told her her name. 

they realize it at the same time, but gahyeon's eyes remain cool, and she nods, "well, maybe we'll meet again."

she smirks, "bye,  _ siyeon _ ." 

siyeon never told gahyeon her name either. 

she keeps her distance, but when gahyeon abandons her luggage and pulls a pistol from her handbag to stuff into her jacket instead, climbing into a buggy of some sort, siyeon starts running. 

-

the muscles in siyeon's calves ache as she speeds across the beach, heading straight for the small dock at the end. it's in an especially secluded area of the resort, just a little off to where siyeon and gahyeon's rooms are. she'd noticed it during her stakeouts, but there hadn't been boats there before. 

there are two boats tied to the dock, and she sees two figures climbing into one of them. as she's running, she unsheathes a throwing knife, and lets it loose. 

gahyeon narrowly avoids it, and the woman who's with her steps on the gas. the boat begins to rev as siyeon draws closer to the dock. the livery of the boat is ostentatious, a pink and gold scheme that hurts siyeon's eyes. 

siyeon and gahyeon lock eyes, and gahyeon smirks at her, wiggling her fingers in a mock goodbye before she turns around and whispers something in her co-conspirator's ear. 

siyeon stares at the second boat. she remembers almost nothing from her boating lessons, but it doesn't matter. getting to the mark is the first priority. siyeon can hear her own heartbeat in her ears as she wrestles with the ropes tethering the small speedboat to the dock, desperately trying to untie the knots a member of the resort staff must have put together. 

the triumphant roar of gahyeon's boat, along with the woman piloting the boat -  _ lee yubin,  _ siyeon wonders how that possibility hadn't been considered by her and yoohyeon - should send a flood of adrenaline to help siyeon get to them faster, but the baking heat and the stress is too much. 

she takes a deep breath. tries to recall her training. faraway, she can hear yells at her to stop - resort staff frantically racing towards her, waving their hands and yelling in a mix of indonesian and english for her to get her hands off resort property. 

if the authorities get involved, siyeon's career is over. it's not that she'll have trouble getting out of jail - the Agency has operatives everywhere - but minji will never send her on a field op again if she messes up. they'll confine her to a desk job. or even worse--

"is this why you've been avoiding me?" comes a chuckle, and bora gently nudges her aside, prising the ropes out of siyeon's iron grip. 

"why are you here?" siyeon stutters out, as bora untangles the ropes with ease, her hands working swiftly to loosen the knots that had given siyeon such trouble. "you-you shouldn't be here." 

bora juts her chin out at the resort staff. "okay, so do i leave you here to deal with them?" 

the ropes come loose, and bora gestures at the speedboat. "so? is this where i bow out?" 

siyeon squeezes her eyes shut and groans.  _ this-  _ this is the worst case scenario, one where a civilian has been dragged into the op, where the mark is getting away, and above all, where she is being stunningly incompetent. 

when she opens her eyes, bora's already in the speedboat, shrugging on a lifejacket. "are you coming?" 

"are you sure?" siyeon shouts, but she's already climbing down into the boat.

"i have an indonesian boating license," bora tells her as the engine revs beneath them, the boat beginning to putter, "put on a life jacket, by the way, or i could lose that license."

siyeon's hair is already beginning to stick to her forehead with sweat. she frowns, "why do you even-" 

"do you want to get whatever it is done?" bora asks impatiently. "trivia time can come later, sweetheart." 

siyeon nods instinctively, and bora shifts the boat into gear, eyes squinted into the horizon. she lifts an arm and points at gahyeon's boat, "that one?" 

"yes." 

  
"okay, we're off!" bora yells. "lifejackets,  _ please _ !" 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: guns, violence, it's not gratuitous but i just thought the cw should be there

siyeon pats herself down, making sure that she has enough throwing knives for when she sees gahyeon and yubin again. two capsules of deadly poison rest right above her heart, either to slip into a drink or for her to take in case she's captured. the idea of outright killing someone makes siyeon queasy. so she decides that just grievous injury will do. 

she fishes her phone out of her pocket, accessing the screen that has gahyeon's current location on it. she'd planted a gps tracker on gahyeon as soon as she'd touched down, of course, snuck into one of her boots. 

the dot on the screen is heading straight for a small island in the distance, which lets her keep track of gahyeon's location even as their boat ducks behind an atoll. there's a brief moment of silence before siyeon hears the engine rev again, and then the chase continues.

siyeon looks up from her phone's tracker to the boat in front, realizing that bora's so fixated on the sea that she doesn't even realize that the expensive strappy sandals she's wearing are getting ruined by the stagnant water sloshing around on the bottom of the boat. somehow, that makes her fall a little in love with her. 

siyeon winces and tries to keep her feet off the floor, but it's an impossible task. their barge is shaking so violently it feels it might come apart at any moment, dooming them to a watery death. 

bora looks back at her, and holds up a thumb, tilting her head in question because any words she says would be carried off into the noisy air right now. siyeon gives her a thumbs-up of her own, and bora nods in satisfaction before she turns back. 

"in front!" siyeon shouts, when she sees the dot on the screen finally stop moving, before it drops off the map entirely. the boat they're chasing disappears again, "they're there."

they close in on the island smoothly, the engine coming to a full stop and barely brushing against the sand. gahyeon's boat is already docked, and siyeon sees gahyeon helping yubin off the boat and into a cave not too far from the shore. 

"i have to go," siyeon tells bora as she throws herself off the side of the boat, the water going up to her shins and gradually receding as she rushes to shore. 

she frowns when she hears splashing behind her, "that really is your catchphrase. are you dumb? i'm not just going to sit and wait. one of them has a gun. they could really hurt you." 

"this doesn't involve you," siyeon says firmly. 

bora rolls her eyes, "sweetheart, i was involved the moment you let me drive you here." 

siyeon is aware that every second they waste bickering is one more second gahyeon and yubin have to do whatever it is - get rid of the weapons, formulate a plan to kill siyeon, whatever - and bora is giving her a look that tells siyeon she isn't changing her mind. she can't really challenge the assertion, anyway. so siyeon grits her teeth, and nods. 

"fine. but stay behind me." she stalks to the cave without waiting for a reply, and hopes bora didn't notice the tremble in her voice. protecting herself is one thing - having to protect someone else is another task altogether. 

guiltily, she glances over to bora, "are your shoes okay?"

bora laughs, "don't worry about it, sweetheart. worse has happened to the world." 

bora stops, winces, and kicks her shoes off. "that's better." 

"i'm sorry," siyeon says, "they look like they were expensive." 

"siyeon," bora says, and her tone is so serious siyeon feels like she has to stop in her tracks to listen to her. 

bora flicks her on the forehead. "if i didn't like you more than those shoes, i wouldn't be here, dumbass." 

"i suppose that's true," siyeon laughs softly, and bora grins at her affectionately, a soft, small hand pressed against her cheek. 

the cave is silent when they finally reach it, and siyeon pads in cautiously, looking around the cavern. there are stairs built in the wall and some forklift-type machine in the middle, which implies some human activity, but there are no traces of gahyeon or yubin having been here. 

"come," siyeon murmurs, extending a hand for bora to take. they descend the steps together, and the big smirk on bora's face clues siyeon in to the fact that this may mean something else, but she can't figure it out. "we just need to look for the two of them. when we do-"

"Agent," lee yubin greets from behind them, and siyeon's heart sinks. 

-

the sound of a gun cocking rings through the air. 

"we were tricked," siyeon whispers, watching as lee yubin and her gang of armed thugs slowly encircle the two of them. she pulls bora close to her, immediately stepping out in front of her, in some half-hearted bid to save her from this danger.

she sweeps her gaze around the empty cave. "there's nothing here." 

yubin says nothing, simply watching as some of the men drag bora away. bora yells and flails, but she's no match for two men who are much stronger than her, iron grips on their shoulders. siyeon can't bear to look where bora's being dragged away to, but all she can think to herself, hoping that bora somehow knows, is that _i am so, so sorry_. 

"lay down your weapons," yubin says simply, fixing siyeon with a hard look. "and put your hands in the air." 

"you're not getting away with this," siyeon snarls, teeth bared, "my colleagues know where i am." 

but siyeon doesn't care if they open fire now. she should be afraid of dying, or being dumped into a shitty desk job, but all she can think about is bora.

"they'll know which beach to find your bloated body washed up on, then," yubin responds, and levels a pistol at siyeon. "we have your friend. give it up, Agent, and we'll consider sparing you."

siyeon stares yubin in the eye, and realizes that there is no getting out of this. there is no clever trick that could slip the carpet out from beneath yubin's feet, no manoeuvre that could get her hands on gahyeon now, who's probably somewhere else on the island laughing her ass off at siyeon's incompetence. 

she stares at the throwing knife in her hand, and thinks about whether it'd simply be better to end it here and now. to make sure that they can't torture her like they did to minji and yoohyeon in argentina. 

she thinks about playing a coward's game, and it doesn't sit right with her. because bora is here. she got bora into this - and now she has to get both of them out of this. no matter what. bora has become as important to her as the Agency. she risked her life to get siyeon here, and siyeon doesn't leave good deeds unreturned. 

yubin cocks the gun when siyeon fiddles with the scar on her cheek, but she shakes her head, "i'm not doing anything funny." 

slowly, she lays her weapons on the floor. the belt of throwing knives, the pistol, the dagger. she keeps the cyanide pills close to her chest. yubin is less flamboyant than gahyeon. she doesn't flaunt the fact that she has siyeon completely and utterly beat, giving siyeon some measure of dignity. siyeon can't quite find it in herself to thank yubin. 

yubin descends the stairs as siyeon's giving up her weapons, a semi-automatic rifle now pointed in siyeon's direction. a single misstep, and siyeon is dead. and bora is dead. 

"what now?" she spits, staring hatefully at yubin. "are you going to kill me?"

"why do you want us, Agent?" yubin asks quietly, her gun still raised but her demeanor softened. "we've done nothing wrong."

siyeon blinks incredulously, "you're selling weapons to organized crime groups. you're mercenaries. why wouldn't we want to take you in?"

yubin raises an eyebrow. 

"that's not what i asked, Agent. i asked: why do you, personally, want us? what horse do you have in this race?"

"because you've done something wrong," siyeon repeats, almost robotic, a massive discomfort tugging at her gut. 

yubin is about to say something else when another gun clicks, "put the gun down." 

a machine gun that's so big it dwarfs bora's tiny frame is pointed straight at yubin. and bora, well, bora is shining. whether from sweat, fear, or the thrumming excitement of getting to hold a machine gun. knowing bora (and siyeon wonders since when she got to say that type of thing), it's probably the last one. 

bora's lip is bleeding, but she's no worse for wear. siyeon wants to pinch herself to make sure that she isn't dreaming, but she's still half-afraid that yubin will open fire on her if she makes even the slightest movement, so she remains still. 

"we're going to get back on our boat," bora says slowly, her eyes fierce"and we're going to leave the island safely. or i pull the trigger." 

yubin doesn't look angry, or like she's been cheated out of a win. she just looks tired, like the world has taken too much from her. 

she sets down the gun beside her, and gives siyeon a withering look. "think about what i said, Agent." 

then they go. bora, who has somehow escaped the clutches of yubin's thugs, grabs siyeon by the hand. and they run. 

-

gahyeon is waiting for them when they emerge from the cave, but she's caught off guard as siyeon sprints ahead of bora and takes gahyeon down, as she grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her backwards to knock her off her feet. 

she pulls out the blade that had been hidden against her thigh, and holds it against gahyeon's throat, tentative enough to avoid real harm, but firm enough for gahyeon to know that siyeon will do whatever it takes to get the information out of her. her heart is pounding from the altercation in the cave, and siyeon knows they don't have much time. 

out of the corner of her eye, she sees bora running to their boat, trying to jumpstart the vehicle before the engine clunks to a sad stop. gahyeon's eyes glitter triumphantly, a cheshire cat smirk playing on her lips as she stares up at siyeon. 

"where are the weapons?" siyeon growls, but gahyeon gives her an innocent grin, shrugging and shaking her head. she knows she doesn't have to talk to siyeon."how many people have you killed?"

behind her, bora continues tinkering with their boat. gahyeon's eyes follow her. 

the thought of gahyeon ever laying her hands on bora stokes a furious fire in siyeon's gut. bora is only the newest addition in a long line of people siyeon has sworn to protect. she can't let anything happen to bora. not when bora has risked her own life for her, and thrown herself into a situation she had no business in.

"tell me!" siyeon screams into gahyeon's face, the blade trembling against the woman's throat. "tell me what you did to my friends!"

the cheshire cat smile returns, and gahyeon murmurs, "so the Agents we met in argentina are alive, after all." 

a dozen images flit through siyeon's head. yoohyeon showing up to breakfast for the first time two weeks after returning from argentina with ten pounds skinned off her frame. minji shouting at siyeon never to mention argentina again when siyeon had asked her if everything was okay. the file for the operation being wiped clean off the Agency servers.

"what did you _do?_ " siyeon demands, commanding absolutely no authority. "i'll kill you, you sick fuck." the words sound foreign in her mouth, because siyeon isn't used to giving threats, is even less used to acting on this. she's always been a wolf stalking her prey - never been one to chase them through the night, fangs bared. 

this time, she feels like she might do it. like she'd be willing to do anything - and it's _anything_ , truly anything this time - for the people she loves.

and the thought of that scares her beyond knowledge.

"she's stalling, siyeon!" bora screams. gahyeon takes the opportunity to land a fist into siyeon's jaw, her other hand knocking the knife out of siyeon's hands. 

gahyeon climbs to her feet with surprising agility, but siyeon wraps a hand around her ankle and yanks her back to the ground, the woman landing with a soft 'oof' sound. 

siyeon feels the cyanide pills press into the space right above her heart.

gahyeon's boat is up and running, the pink and gold monstrosity winking at her in the ferocious sunlight, and bora leans over the side, "let's go!"

she runs, letting bora pull her up onto gahyeon's ship. 

"thank god," she whispers, hands on her knees as she struggles to catch her breath. 

"thank _me_ , more like," bora snorts, and the boat begins gaining speed, bora bent intently over the controls. siyeon smiles. she wants to go over and kiss her, lift her in her arms and swing her around and thank her over and over again for helping her out of this mess. 

bora has to turn away from siyeon to engineer their great escape, her hands fiddling with the steering and the power. she doesn't see what happens next. she bends down low enough that the second gunshot goes clean over her head, and she is none the worse for wear. 

the first gunshot, however, rings through the air, and yubin's bullet finds its mark squarely in siyeon's shoulder. 

she hits the bottom of the boat with a distant thud, blood drooling out of the wound, and everything goes quiet.

  
  


"you're awake," a woman in a bald cap and a moustache stuck on says when siyeon opens her eyes. 

"what the," siyeon snorts, and promptly cries out when she sits up too quickly, a radiating heat coming from her shoulder. she stares at the bandaged mass that is her shoulder, and decides to try to move it one more time. one scream of pain later, she's given out. 

there's a dull throb at the back of her head, and minji tells her that she's sustained a moderate concussion and very obviously, a bullet to the shoulder. 

when siyeon's regained her bearings somewhat, she finally huffs, "minji, that disguise is so _lame_." 

minji pouts and tugs the bald cap off. black hair erupts out from under it, and minji delicately combs her fingers through it to settle it, complaining quietly that siyeon always ruins her fun by pointing out how bad her disguises are, especially when yoohyeon's always sure praise them excessively. minji's still wearing that ridiculous moustache, but siyeon figures that not all battles are designed to be won. 

when minji's done fiddling with her disguise, she lets out a wistful sigh. 

"you did a good job, siyeon," minji smiles. 

siyeon glares at her. she must not look very threatening, big eyes trained on minji as she's nearly lying one-eighty degrees, but she narrows her brow to compensate. "i got hurt, and i was incompetent - i'm sorry." 

"we were able to pull the logs from her ship and track down the island they were using for their operation," minji replies gently, settling a hand on top of one of siyeon's, eyes tender above her bushy moustache "both lee gahyeon and lee yubin have been taken into custody." 

"really?" 

"i wouldn't lie to you," minji murmurs, pulling siyeon's hand away from her face when siyeon begins fingering her scar against. 

"how long have you been sitting here?" 

"i got on the plane the moment the news reached us. your friend called the police." 

siyeon groans, more memories flooding back to her. she had put bora's life in danger, and then she had made bora watch her get shot. god. how terrifying must that have been? she isn't surprised if bora's decided to run as far as-

"your," minji pauses, but she has a knowing smile on her face, "friend - she's outside." 

siyeon jolts, "she's here?" 

"she wouldn't stop shouting until handong sat her down."

"sat her down or 'sat her down'?" siyeon winces. she feels bad for doubting handong, but she isn't exactly the biggest 'people person'. she's more of a fists-first-talk-later type of woman. 

"sat her down," minji smiles, "though it almost did turn into a 'sat her down' because your friend wouldn't stop jumping up and trying to knock down this door. it was quite the scene." 

siyeon can't help but giggle, though all her emotions are being filtered through a gauze of guilt. "i can imagine." 

the thought of bora sitting outside in the waiting room, presumably trembling with agitation and only held down by handong's gaze, is absolutely hilarious. 

knowing that bora wasn't hurt, though, cheers siyeon up considerably, even if she isn't sure how they're going to explain this to bora. having to duck and swerve around her at every turn, being threatened at gunpoint in a cave by an international criminal, siyeon getting shot in the boat belonging to the other international criminal are stories enough for one lifetime. handong has probably already ironed all of it out with bora, calmed her down so she wouldn't scream the roof down at siyeon when she saw her again. 

"is yoohyeon here too?" siyeon asks.

minji grimaces, "no. i'm sorry. she just… she's not ready."

siyeon sighs, or she would if the action didn't send pain coursing through her shoulder. yoohyeon barely leaves headquarters. she hasn't since coming home from argentina. 

"minji," siyeon mutters. "what happened in argentina?"

she instinctively winces when minji speaks, remembering all too well what happened the last time. the older woman laughs guiltily, "i'm sorry for yelling at you over it. that was… a dark time for me." 

siyeon nods slowly. she can take that explanation. she feels upset, but not because she thinks minji doesn't trust her. there are some wounds that have been inflicted that are so great that they are impossible to console or close. that must be the simple tragedy of life. 

"you did good, siyeon," minji assures her, gazing at her, and she's not as opaque as she thinks. siyeon can see the cogs grinding in minji's head. "i'll be proud of you, no matter what you choose to do next." 

before siyeon can ask what she means, minji leaves. it's followed by the sound of feet thundering against vinyl flooring, and only has about five seconds to brace herself before bora appears in the doorway.

-

"i want to throw myself into your arms so badly," bora says as she stands at the foot of siyeon's bed, "but i don't think your shoulder would like it." 

siyeon doesn't even bother looking at her shoulder, knowing that it'll send another dizzying shock of pain down her spine. "it would not." 

she can't stop smiling. and it turns out bora, for all her silky-smooth pretensions, has a stupid, dazed smile of her own. she comes to sit where minji had been, "how are you feeling?" 

"like i got shot." somehow, it feels like they've known each other for years, that siyeon has lived a thousand lifetimes with bora at her side - and siyeon wonders, distantly, if that's possible. to long for someone as much as she does bora. to want someone this much. 

"yeah," bora pulls a face, "we should probably check out of the resort soon. its guests keep getting into gunfights." 

"why _were_ you at the resort for so long?" siyeon muses absently, and bora raises an eyebrow. 

"i'm with the Agency too, you idiot." 

siyeon's wide eyes must give her away, because bora can't hold her composure for even a second longer. she bursts out laughing, pointing at siyeon as she giggles, "i'm kidding! i'm just rich." 

"somehow," siyeon groans, rubbing her head, "that's worse."

"but maybe we should stay a few more nights," siyeon smiles up at her, "just so i'm fully healed?" 

-

"you're like the ocean," siyeon hums into bora's neck. 

she doesn't want to move from this spot, not when things are perfect like this. the only complaint she has is that her shoulder still hurts and can't be jostled too much, and that she's been ordered by the doctors to get plenty of rest for her concussion. 

siyeon had refuted that with staying up twenty-four hours in a row to settle paperwork with yoohyeon across satellite link-up before bora forced her to get some sleep. in her words - "i may not be able to sit on you right now because of your shoulder, but i will do everything else to get you to sleep, so do it." 

minji and handong hadn't been able to stay for long - besides, bora was probably more capable of guarding siyeon than the two of them combined, through sheer willpower alone. they'd flown back to seoul two days after siyeon got shot, and siyeon's only received news of their safe passage through yoohyeon since then. 

apparently, handong's going out on a solo field op in a few days. for everyone's sanity, siyeon hopes that doesn't go as badly as this one did. 

at siyeon's remark, bora laughs - not the loud laugh that she uses when she's in public, but a quiet, intimate one, warm in the air. she kisses the side of siyeon's head. "and what does that mean?" 

"it means," siyeon hesitates, then says with all the earnestness in her heart, "it means that you're rough but calm. smooth but raging. you make no sense, but you do to me." 

"that didn't clear anything up," bora chuckles, and kisses the side of siyeon's head once more. siyeon squirms happily. she's very much taller, minimally broader than bora, but she enjoys being scooped up like this, enjoys feeling small. "but i'm glad you feel that way about me." 

"what about me?" siyeon asks curiously, "what do you feel about me?"

siyeon can't count the number of days that've passed since the day she got shot. time has been moving too fast and too slow at the same time, and in this period, they've managed to delve deeper into each other, to know each other more than siyeon ever thought possible.

it's dangerous. it's giving her that same taste of what the good life would be, that night she stood outside bora's hotel room. 

somehow, it's even worse this time. she's not just having a taste of the good life - she's sinking her teeth into it and refusing to let go. every moment she spends in bora's arms, kissing her, climbing on top of her, stealing some of her snacks, is a moment too long. 

the end to all this coming. it has to. siyeon will heal, and return to seoul until she gets deployed again. 

bora will move on, to a life where she can meet another woman and pretend siyeon never even existed. 

siyeon's pulled back to reality by the sound of bora's laugh. 

she's shaking a little with laughter, but at a soft tap of siyeon's hand, she settles down against her. 

"i'd say you're like… a boat on a dock." bora adjusts herself so she can stare at siyeon steadily. "because you're tied down when you so obviously want to be set free." 

this must be the end she predicted. but _what_ sort of end it is - if it an end to something good or merely the end of an old life and the beginning of a new, uncertain, but exciting one… 

"there's nothing i can do about it," siyeon says diplomatically, suddenly feeling very cold in bora's embrace. "my first duty is to the Agency." 

"does it _have_ to be?"

_that's not what i asked, Agent. i asked: why do_ you, _personally_ , _want us?_

siyeon thinks about yubin's words, even as the woman's undoubtedly being taken into custody. she thinks about what minji had said to her. she feels bora's body against her. 

and she makes a decision. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew and we're done! thank you for reading, this universe came out of me really weirdly... i was browsing my song library and trying to force out an AU and i landed on summer days by martin garrix x fob x macklemore lmao of all songs...... anyway, leave a comment if you enjoyed it ty :)
> 
> also i've been really REALLY busy w school so i haven't had time to respond or even read comments skfjsjf but i promise i'll read and respond asap <3

**Author's Note:**

> if u liked this fic u might like my other 2 suayeon fics :3  
> twt @9dalsol


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